Mike Griffin Finally Figures It Out

"In a remarkably candid internal e-mail to top advisers obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Griffin lashed out last month at the White House for what he called a "jihad" to shut down the space shuttle, expressed frustration at the lack of funding for a new moon rocket - and despaired about the future of America's human space flight program."

In the past few days PAO has been selectively picking out some reporters - but not others (guess who) so as to allow Griffin to be able to respond with provocative answers - if the reporters just happen to ask the right provocative questions. It would seem that word has finally gotten to Griffin that neither the Obama or McCain camps are at all interested in keeping him on after the election - other than to keep the seat warm for a few months.

According to NASA sources, in these email missives Griffin is blaming OSTP and OMB for their campaign ("jihad") against the shuttle and the ISS so as to force his hand in cutting ISS capability off by not delivering things such as AMS, Node 3, and needed logistics and utilization flights. Griffin sees this pressure as being focused upon meeting what he now sees as an artificially imposed 2010 retirement date.

When the VSE was announced in early 2004, before the shuttle had returned to flight, no one new how long that gap would be. 2010 was a best guess as to when the ISS would be finished once the shuttle resumed flying. ISS completion drove the 2010 guesstimate date - not the other way around. When Sean O'Keefe left NASA, and OMB/OSTP staffers re-asserted themeselves (OMB's career civil servant employee Paul Shawcross being the prime Shuttle-hater) 2010 went from being a best guess to an absolute line drawn in the sand.

In these emails, Griffin also goes on to say that he predicted the mess that Russia has now created (Georgia, INKSA etc.) but that OSTP and OMB ignored him when he raised this possibility.

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Frustrated NASA chief vents about agency's fate, Orlando Sentinel\n\n\"In a remarkably candid internal e-mail to top advisers obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Griffin lashed out last month at the White House for what he called a \"jihad\" to shut down the space shuttle, expressed frustration at the lack of funding for a new moon rocket - and despaired about the future of America's human space flight program.\"\n\nView Griffin's email, Orlando Sentinel\n\n Editor's note: Gee Mike, you are just figuring this out -- only now? \n\nIn the past few days PAO has been selectively picking out some reporters - but not others (guess who) so as to allow Griffin to be able to respond with provocative answers - if the reporters just happen to ask the right provocative questions. It would seem that word has finally gotten to Griffin that neither the Obama or McCain camps are at all interested in keeping him on after the election - other than to keep the seat warm for a few months.\n\nAccording to NASA sources, in these email missives Griffin is blaming OSTP and OMB for their campaign (\"jihad\") against the shuttle and the ISS so as to force his hand in cutting ISS capability off by not delivering things such as AMS, Node 3, and needed logistics and utilization flights. Griffin sees this pressure as being focused upon meeting what he now sees as an artificially imposed 2010 retirement date. \n\nWhen the VSE was announced in early 2004, before the shuttle had returned to flight, no one new how long that gap would be. 2010 was a best guess as to when the ISS would be finished once the shuttle resumed flying. ISS completion drove the 2010 guesstimate date - not the other way around. When Sean O'Keefe left NASA, and OMB/OSTP staffers re-asserted themeselves (OMB's career civil servant employee Paul Shawcross being the prime Shuttle-hater) 2010 went from being a best guess to an absolute line drawn in the sand.\n\nIn these emails, Griffin also goes on to say that he predicted the mess that Russia has now created (Georgia, INKSA etc.) but that OSTP and OMB ignored him when he raised this possibility.\n\nKSC Folks: Call Paul Shawcross, earlier post\n\nWhite House Memo Calls For Slashing Remaining Space Shuttle Flights, earlier post

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